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Please note: this post only applies to finding puppetry companies in Australia. If you are from another country, I would suggest visiting The Puppetry Homepage, UNIMA USA, or UNIMA UK.

Many people in Australia don't even realise there is a strong puppetry industry in the country. While most puppeteers would disagree that it's hard to find, I believe - after conversations with a lot of the general public and theatre-going audiences - that the industry is hidden, even to the point that professional theatre workers don't know it's there.

There are a lot of small, independent companies around the country, with many puppeteers working by themselves or in small groups. For the most part, it seems that puppeteers and puppet makers freelance, do children's shows, as well as working with the 'larger' companies that are established around the country. (Please note: Here I'm discussing performance companies. If you're looking for puppets to buy, see my post on 'where to buy and hire puppets'.)

In Melbourne, Victoria, the 'large' (I use apostrophes because these companies are actually under the government-devised funding heading of 'medium'-sized theatre companies, but in the puppetry industry, these would be the largest of the puppet companies in Australia) companies are: Polyglot Puppet Theatre and Snuff Puppets. But as mentioned above, there are many individuals and small groups that exist out there, including my own company, Sticky Apple Legs. Another small Victorian company is Don't Move Puppet Theatre. There's also Dream Puppets, who are well-known for their work using blacklight puppetry. Polliwog Puppets in Gippsland offer children's shows, as well as workshops. Festive Factory in Woodend, Victoria, offers performances and workshops. They seem to be mainly focused on children's events and festival pieces. Another puppet company, Fairytale Puppets, perform children's shows and offer facepainting.

In other states, there are quite a number of puppetry companies, although notably more on the Eastern side of the country than the west.

In WA, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre is the 'large' company for the state.

In NSW, Erth Visual and Physical Inc produce large puppets, combined with physical theatre (circus, acrobatics, etc.). They also offer workshops. Caboose Puppets produce children's puppetry shows and Puppetease do puppet shows for kids, schools and museums. Sydney Puppet Theatre present children's shows and workshops for both adults and kids.

In SA, Preston's Historic Punch and Judy perform glove puppetry (duh!) - they also have a base in Sydney, and do workshops and lectures on Punch and Judy history.

If you'd like to find a list of companies in your area, contact UNIMA Australia for some help. Also, Puppetry Australia has a small list of links.

I'll be adding and extending this post as I come across new puppetry companies to list; I will also be adding any companies I find to my links page. You may also want to check out my post on where to find puppeteers in Australia.

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